“You only get innocence once, you know? And there's something fantastic about it.”

It’s been 15 years since Oscar-winning director James L. Brooks has released a film, and his absence has been felt. The architect of classics like Terms of Endearment , Broadcast News and As Good as It Gets is back. He returns to form with Ella McCay, a story rooted in the messy human emotions of complicated relationships—a genre he has mastered, yet one that’s become increasingly rare in modern cinema.

Brooks’ decision to make Ella McCay wasn’t sparked by a trend or franchise opportunity, but rather by an emotional irritation. “It was a reaction to so many films ending with, ‘I forgive you. OK, we’re all OK,’” Brooks tells Newsweek . “So I had a little perverse reaction, you know? Because I th

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